Comparative analysis of simulation and experiment for the Hall-type thruster BPT-4000

Since 2004, the Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPL/PI/UnB) has been developing permanent magnet Hall thrusters due to their high efficiency. However, permanent magnets have limited use due to their maximum working temperature (the point at which they begin to demagnetize). Therefore, strict control of the temperature of the magnets must be carried out. In the present work we perform a numerical thermal simulation of a Hall thruster taken from the literature (e.g., the BPT-4000) and compare the obtained simulated thruster temperatures with experimental values taken in the laboratory. This work aims to verify the reliability of our simulation strategy in order to simulate other Hall-type thrusters in the future. The obtained simulation data was consistent with experimental results, demonstrating that the used simulation tool is reliable. In the future we will use this strategy for the simulation of improved plasma Hall thrusters developed at PPL aiming at improving its engineering model in order to prepare for future space qualification tests. •The reliability of a computational numerical simulation tool was tested.•The tested tool showed good reliability in relation to the physical experiment.•The percentage differences in temperature between simulation and experiment were low.•The simulation model can be improved by reducing the approximations used in this work.